Carpenter{40 s tool

ABSTRACT

A carpenter&#39;&#39;s tool to be used primarily for pulling nails, wherein the tool is of one-piece construction having an elongated body portion or handle extending in what may be considered a first plane, a first extension on one end of the handle extending at slightly less then 90* from the handle and extending is the same plane as the handle, a second extension on the first extension extending at an angle of between zero and ninety degrees from the first plane, and a wedge-shaped claw portion on the end of the second extension shaped to form a fulcrum at the transition between the claw portion and the second extension, whereby the claw portion may be inserted in virtually unaccessible locations for pulling nails and the desired leverage is provided.

United States Patent [1 1 Alger May 28, 1974 CARPENTER S TOOL Carl E.Alger, Oklahoma City, Okla.

[73] Assignee: Oklahoma Tool & Supply Company,

Oklahoma City, Okla.

22 Filed: Sept. 14, 1970 21 Appl. No.: 71,853

[75] Inventor:

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,896,910 7/l959 Cooper etal. 254/l3l FQREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Sweden 254/25 PrimaryExaminer-Othell M. Simpson Attorney, Agent, or FirmDunlap, Laney,Hessin, Dougherty & Codding [57] ABSTRACT A carpenters tool to be usedprimarily for pulling nails, wherein the too] is of one-piececonstruction having an elongated body portion or handle extending inwhat may be considered a first plane, a first extension on one end ofthe handle extending at slightly less then 90 from the handle andextending is the same plane as the handle, a second extension on thefirst extension extending at an angle of between zero and ninety degreesfrom the first plane, and a wedgeshaped claw portion on the end of thesecond extension shaped to form a fulcrum at the transition between theclaw portion and the second extension, whereby the claw portion may beinserted in virtually unaccessible locations for pulling nails and thedesired leverage is provided.

1 Claim, 4/Drawing Figures 1. CARPENTER'S TOOL BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates toimprovements in carpenters tools, and more particularly, but not by wayof limitation, to an improved nail puller.

2. Description of the Prior Art As it is well known in the art ofcarpentry, it is frequently necessary to pull nails which are virtuallyunaccessible if it is desired to either save the nails or save theboards being disassembled. Various configurations of nail pullers havebeen proposed, but none have been found to be universally useable. Inall known prior nail pullers, the claw portion is either extended fromthe handle portion of the puller in such a direction that the clawcannot be inserted in many different tight places, or the carpenterinjures his hands in trying to manipulate the puller, or the nail pullerdoes not provide the necessary leverage when the claw portion is engagedunder the head of a nail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of this invention is to provide acarpenters tool including a nail puller by use of which nails invirtually any location can be pulled.

Another object of this invention is to decrease the possibility ofcarpenters injuring their hands when pulling nails.

A further object of this invention is to provide a nail puller whichwill provide the necessary leverage for pulling nails from virtually alllocations which may be encountered.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from thefollowing detailed description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is'what may be considered aside-elevational view of a carpenters tool constructed in accordancewith this invention.

FIG. 2 is what may be considered a plan or top view of the tool shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a typical use of the tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT first plane is theplane of the drawing paper in FIG. 2

and would be the plane extending normal to the drawing paper in FIG. 1.The first extension 14 is connected to the handle 12 by a curved section20 (FIG. 2) in such a manner that the first extension 14 extends in saidfirst plane at an angle of slightly less than 90 from the handle 12.With this arrangement, the portion 21 of the first extension 14 adjacentthe second extension 16 will function as a fulcrum in many uses of thetool, as will be further described. Also, the extension 14 should beappreciably shorter than the handle portion 12 As shown in FIG. 3, thesecond extension 16 is connected to the first extension 14 by a curvedsection 22 formed in such a manner that .the second extension 16 extendsin a second plane at an angle of slightly less than to the first plane.In a preferred embodiment, the second extension 16 extends at an angleof about 79 from the first extension 14.

The claw 18 is formed on the end of the second extension 16 remote fromthe first extension 14 (FIG. 1). The claw 18 is wedge-shaped toward itsterminal end 24 and is formed slightly out of line with the secondextension 16 to form a transition area 26 which functions as a fulcrumwhen the nail puller is in use, as will be described. The usual slot 28is formed in the terminal end 24 of the claw 18 to receive a nail to bepulled.

The end of the handle 12 opposite the first extension 14 is shaped toform a chisel or wedge-shaped portion 30 for use in prying boards apart,and the like, in the nature of a crow bar. The prying portion 30 ispreferrably curved from the first plane referred to above to increasethe utility of the tool and provide a surface or area 32 which can beused as a fulcrum in prying boards apart, or the like.

As previously indicated, the tool 10 is of one-piece construction. Also,it should be noted that the handle portion 12, first extension 14 andsecond extension 16, with the interconnecting sections 20 and 22, areall preferably formed with an octagonal cross section to facilitate thehandling and gripping of the tool by a carpenter.

The tool 10 is primarily used for pulling nails and is particularlyuseful in pulling nails in virtually unaccessible locations, such asillustrated'in FIG. 4. The situation illustrated in FIG. 4 consists oftwo parallel boards 34 and 36 arranged in closely spaced relation withthe nail 38 to be pulled being located between the boards 34 and 36. Thespacing between the boards 34 and 36 may be, for example, only an inchor two wide. With the tool 10, the claw 18 may be easily insertedbetween the boards 34-and 36 and placed in engagement with the nail 38,with the nail 38 being extended through the slot 28 without thecarpenter having to touch either one of the boards 34 or 36. With thetool in the position shown in FIG. 4, the carpenter can pry the nail 38loose by forcing the free end of the handle 12 outwardly with respect tothe boards 34 and 36. In this operation, the fulcrum 26 (FIG. 1) willengage the board 36 and the carpenter will thereby have sufficientleverage for pulling the nail 36 a short distance. When the nail becomessomewhat loose by prying through use of the fulcrum 26, the portion 21of the extension 14 will come in contact with the board 38 and with acontinuing prying action, the nail 33 may be completely removed.

The disposition of the extension 14 at an angle of slightly less than 90from the handle portion 12 is very beneficial in that only the portion21 engages the board from which a nail is pulled. Therefore, theremainder of the extension 14 can extend out over the edge of the boardand still not crush the edge of the board.

The tool 10 may be constructed of any desired size, depending upon thesizes of nails to be pulled. As an example, when the tool is to be usedfor pulling nails of 8 penny and 10 penny size, the over-all length ofthe tool is conveniently 17% inches long and the distance from the sideof the handle portion 12 opposite the extension 14 to the side of theclaw l8 opposite the handle portion 12 may be 3 /2 inches. The over-alllength of the claw 18 between the terminal end 24 of the claw and thefulcrum 26 may be 2 inches, and the combined length of the claw 18 andextension may be 3% inches.

plane;

a first extension on one end of the handle portion having a length lessthan the length of the handle portion and extending in said first planeat slightly less than a right angle to the handle portion;

a second extension on the end of the first extension remote from thehandle portion extension at an angle of approximately 79 from said firstplane;

a nail claw formed on the opposite end of the second extension out ofline with the second extension to form a fulcrum at the transitionbetween the claw and the second extension, said claw being wedgeshapedtoward the terminal end thereof; and

a prying section formed on the opposite end of the handle portion, theprying section being wedgeshaped toward its terminal end and beingcurved away from said first plane toward its terminal end.

1. A one-piece carpenter''s tool for use, among other things, in pullingnails, comprising: an elongated handle portion extending in a firstplane; a first extension on one end of the handle portion having alength less than the length of the handle portion and extending in saidfirst plane at slightly less than a right angle to the handle portion; asecond extension on the end of the first extension remote from thehandle portion extension at an angle of approximately 79* from saidfirst plane; a nail claw formed on the opposite end of the secondextension out of line with the second extension to form a fulcrum at thetransition between the claw and the second extension, said claw beingwedge-shaped toward the terminal end thereof; and a prying sectionformed on the opposite end of the handle portion, the prying sectionbeing wedge-shaped toward its terminal end and being curved away fromsaid first plane toward its terminal end.